Card game with combination paytable

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a game for play by a player using a plurality of cards, with each of the cards having a card value associated therewith. The game includes a wager posted by the player, at least two cards provided to the player, and a paytable listing a plurality of card combinations. The player receives a payout based on the wager if the player&#39;s cards form any of the card combinations listed in the paytable. The paytable preferably has a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent and a house edge of between five and ten percent, and includes two cards with cards values summing to twenty, a blackjack. The game may be an auxiliary game for use with a main game, such that the wager is a side wager for use with the auxiliary game.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to games of chance, and more specifically to a card game wherein a player is awarded a payout for a hand which matches any of a predetermined list of card combinations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many casino games offer a player the opportunity to make a side bet, with the ultimate goal being to increase player participation and excitement while encouraging players to maximize their wager. Successful casino games provide a balance between the desire of a player and the desire of a casino or other game operator to maximize profits. A hit frequency can be determined for various casino games, with the hit frequency being the probability of a win given the rules of the game. Conversely, a house edge may also be determined, with the house edge being the ratio of expected player loss to the initial amount bet. Thus the goal is to provide a game having a hit frequency high enough to encourage player participation while maintaining a house edge high enough to ensure the game operator will realize a profit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a game for play by a player using a plurality of cards. Each of the cards has a card value associated therewith. The game includes a wager posted by the player and at least two cards provided to the player. The game further includes a paytable listing a plurality of card combinations. The player receives a payout based on the wager if the player's at least two cards form any of the card combinations listed in the paytable. The paytable has a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent and a house edge of between five and ten percent. The paytable includes two cards with cards values summing to twenty, a blackjack, and a pair in order to provide the necessary hit frequency and house edge.

The present invention further provides a method of playing a game according to the present invention. A player wagers a wager. Two cards are then provided to the player. The two cards are compared to a paytable including a plurality of two-card combinations. The player is awarded a payout based on the wager if the two cards match any of the two-card combinations. The two-card combinations include two cards with card values summing to twenty, a blackjack, and a pair. In one aspect of the present invention, the two-card combinations give the paytable a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent. In another aspect of the invention, the two-card combinations give the paytable a house edge of between five and ten percent. The game may be an auxiliary game for use with a main game, such that the wager is a side wager for use with the auxiliary game. The main game may be a poker game, with the two cards provided to the player being the player's hole cards for the poker game. The player may wager an ante separate from the side wager to be eligible to play the main game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best modes for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a game table incorporating a game according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an example of a paytable for use with a game according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart presenting a method of playing a game according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 presents a schematic of a game table 10 incorporating a game according to the present invention, while FIG. 2 is an example of a paytable 12 for use with the present invention. As shown schematically in FIG. 1, a player 14 makes a wager 16 and receives at least two cards 18. Preferably, the game is played using a standard deck of fifty-two cards, with each of the cards having a card value associated therewith. Each card represents a number between 1 and 11; i.e., cards with numbers on them have the numeric value shown, jacks, queens and kings have a numeric value of 10, and aces have a numeric value of 1 or 11. It should be appreciated that while the preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes this traditional notion of card values, the game may be played using other symbolic representations without changing the inventive concept.

Turning to FIG. 2, the paytable 12 lists a plurality of two-card combinations. If the player cards 18 match any of the card combinations listed in the paytable 12, the player receives a payout based on the wager 16. The card combinations in the paytable 12 preferably give the paytable 12 a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent and a house edge of between five and ten percent, thereby encouraging player participation while providing a reasonable return to a game operator. In order to facilitate these odds, the paytable 12 includes at least three hands: two cards having card values which sum to twenty, a blackjack, and a pair. As known in the art, two cards which sum to twenty is achieved when the player cards 18 are any of the following: ten/ten, ten/jack, ten/queen, ten/king, jack/jack, jack/queen, jack/king, queen/queen, queen/king, king/king, ace/nine. A blackjack occurs when the player cards 18 are ace/king, ace/queen, ace/jack or ace/ten. A pair occurs when the cards are matching in both value and picture. For example, six/six and queen/queen both represent pairs, but ten/queen does not, even though the card values both equal ten. It should be noted that there are situations where the player cards 18 will match more than one of the card combinations in the paytable 12. For instance, ten/ten is both a pair and two cards which sum to twenty. Preferably, the player 14 will receive the higher of the two payouts in this situation; i.e., only the highest hand is paid. For example, a pair pays 3:1, while two cards summing to twenty pays only 2:1. Thus, the player 14 would receive a 3:1 payout in the preferred embodiment.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the card combinations listed in the paytable 12 are all two-card hands. As such, the game according to the present invention may be played as an auxiliary game with any traditional casino game wherein the player 14 receives at least two cards. As one example, the game may be used as a side bet in a blackjack game, with the wager 16 being a side wager that the first two cards received, or that any two cards received, will match at least one of the card combinations listed in the paytable 12. Preferably, the player 14 is required to post an ante for play of the main game, with the side wager 16 entitling the player 14 to play the game according to the present invention. As another example, the game may be used as a side bet in a Texas Hold'Em poker game, with the player cards 18 doubling as hole cards for the poker game. In pai gow poker, wherein a player receives seven cards, the game could be utilized as a side bet on any two of the seven cards, or on just the two-card low hand. It matters only that a player 14 receive at least two cards, with the two-card player hand 18 being compared to the paytable 12 to resolve the game. While the inventive concept has been described in terms of live play, it should be noted that the game according to the present invention can be played on a video display without changing the inventive concept. All that matters is that any two of a player's cards 18 are compared to either a paytable 12 having a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent and a house edge of between five and ten percent, or a paytable 12 including two cards having card values which sum to twenty, a blackjack, and a pair.

Turning to FIG. 3, the present invention also provides a method of playing a game according to the present invention. As shown in box 100, a player first wagers a wager. Next, two cards are provided to the player in box 102. It should be noted that the player may receive more than two cards; however, only two of the cards provided to the player are utilized in playing the game. Next, in box 104, the two player cards are compared to a paytable including a plurality of two-card combinations. The two-card combinations include at least two cards having card values summing to twenty, two cards representing a blackjack, and two cards representing a pair. Finally, a player is awarded a payout based on the wager if the two player cards match any of the plurality of two-card combinations in box 106.

While the best modes for carrying out the invention have been described in detail, it is to be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words and description rather than of limitation. Those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize that many modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced in a substantially equivalent way other than as specifically described herein. 

1. A game for play by a player using a plurality of cards, with each of said plurality of cards having a card value associated therewith, said game comprising: a wager placed by said player; at least two cards provided to said player; and a paytable listing a plurality of card combinations, said player receiving a payout based on said wager if said at least two cards form at least one of said plurality of card combinations; wherein said paytable has a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent and a house edge of between five and ten percent.
 2. The game of claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of card combinations is two cards having card values which sum to twenty.
 3. The game of claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of card combinations is two cards forming a blackjack.
 4. The game of claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of card combinations is a pair.
 5. A game for play by a player using a plurality of cards, with each of said plurality of cards having a card value associated therewith, said game comprising: a two-card player hand dealt to said player; a wager placed by said player; and a paytable including a plurality of two-card combinations, said player receiving a payout proportional to said wager when said two-card player hand matches any of said plurality of two-card combinations; wherein said plurality of two-card combinations include: a) two cards with card values summing to twenty; b) two cards representing a blackjack; and c) two cards representing a pair.
 6. The game of claim 5, wherein said plurality of two-card combinations give said paytable an overall hit frequency of at least seventeen percent.
 7. The game of claim 5, wherein said plurality of two-card combinations give said paytable an overall house edge of between five and ten percent.
 8. A method of playing a game using a plurality of cards, with each of said plurality of cards having a card value associated therewith, said method comprising: wagering of a wager by a player; providing two cards to said player; comparing said two cards to a paytable including a plurality of two-card combinations, said plurality of two-card combinations including at least a) two cards with card values summing to twenty; b) two cards representing a blackjack; and c) two cards representing a pair; and awarding said player a payout based on said wager if said two cards match any of said plurality of two-card combinations.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said plurality of two-card combinations give said paytable a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said plurality of two-card combinations give said paytable a house edge of between five and ten percent.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein said game is an auxiliary game for use with a main game, such that said wager is a side wager for said auxiliary game.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said main game is a poker game, with said two cards provided to said player being hole cards for said main game.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein said player wagers an ante separate from said side wager to play said main game. 